The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Prescott Elementary School
Prescott Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Portland’s Parkrose School District 3. The school is located near the intersection of Northeast Prescott Street and 104th Avenue, on Portland’s east side. The campus is one of several elementary schools in a district that has recently invested heavily in its physical plant, with a narrowly approved bond measure funding a full renovation of all four elementary schools and the construction of a replacement middle school.
The student body is small for its grade band. Racially and ethnically, the enrollment is notably diverse, with no single group forming a majority. White students and Hispanic students each make up roughly a third of the school, Black students account for a little more than a fifth, and students who identify as two or more races add another tenth. Smaller shares of Asian students and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students round out the mix. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, proficiency rates were low across most subjects and grade levels. In math, the share of students meeting the state benchmark was in the low teens in each tested grade. In English language arts, rates were higher but still modest, with the strongest result coming in fifth grade, where a little more than two in five students met the bar. In science, which Oregon tests in fifth grade, about a fifth of students were proficient. Because only a single year of assessment data was available, there is no basis for comparing current results with prior years or describing a trend. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, placed Prescott in the bottom quartile when compared with the district-level averages of the nine districts in Multnomah County.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism and on students receiving special education services or English learner support were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those dimensions of student support.
Portland is Oregon’s largest city, a major Pacific Northwest urban center with an economy driven by healthcare, technology, athletic and outdoor brands, shipping, and craft industries. The city has experienced recent population decline after decades of growth, and housing costs remain high, shaped by gentrification pressures that have particularly affected historically Black neighborhoods in North and Northeast Portland. The neighborhood around Prescott Elementary sits in the eastern part of the city, a largely residential area with commercial corridors. The Parkrose district itself was the subject of a notable recent investment: a bond measure that passed by a razor-thin margin and resulted in the rebuilding of the middle school and the renovation of every elementary school, including Prescott. Those facilities improvements remain a tangible asset for families considering the school.
Program offerings beyond the regular curriculum were not included in the available data. A parent looking for specific enrichments, interventions, or after-school options should verify those directly with the school. For a family weighing this school, the strongest signal is the assessment data, which point to a student body where a majority of students are not yet meeting state expectations in reading, math, or science. A parent may want to visit, talk with staff about how the school supports students who are below grade level, and ask about what academic programming is in place to raise proficiency.
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